Participation in the Workshop

Composers and lyricists participate in three discrete phases of the Workshop. In the First Year Workshop, participants collaborate (and some composer-lyricists work independently) on specific, varied assignments. In the Second Year Workshop, individuals and established teams present pieces of a larger work in process as assigned. Some participants are then invited to join the Advanced Workshop, in which they present new work in progress.

There is an open competition for admission to the Workshop, which is operated by BMI at no cost to participants. Applications for admission to the first-year group of composers and lyricists are accepted until August 1 of each year. The application includes an application form and tapes or lyrics, as appropriate; auditions take place after the applications are screened. Applicants for the librettists' portion of the workshop must submit excerpts from their works by May 1 of each year. Writers need not be affiliated with BMI.

Recognition

On May 21, 2006, the Drama Desk awarded the BMI Workshop a Special Award "for nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater."

On September 22, 2006, it was announced that the BMI Workshop would be one of the recipients of the 2006 Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, to be celebrated at a luncheon ceremony at Tavern on the Green on Tuesday, October 24, 2006.